MIAMI — LeBron James was quiet before the game and relatively quiet during it.

In defiance of his remarks on contraction being misconstrued, James blew off the media for his regularly scheduled pregame press conference last night.

In the Heat’s 106-98 victory over the Knicks last night, James took a backseat to Dwyane Wade, who pumped in 40 points. James had 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists – a solid night for almost anyone, but not the usual James’ destruction of the Knicks.

“This is the sacrifice I made and that is how I wanted it,” James said. “It takes a lot of pressure off myself and D. Wade. He had it going. He made big shot after big shot.”

As far as contraction, James said last week he thought the NBA was too watered-down and would be better off with stronger clubs, wondering what would happen if Devin Harris and Brook Lopez were taken off the Nets and Kevin Love off the Timberwolves.

The reaction was decidedly negative and Tuesday James said he never even knew the would contraction until he saw it on the Internet in relation to his remarks.

* In Heat forward Chris Bosh, who met with the Knicks on July 2 in Chicago, said he took the Knicks pitch seriously but didn’t sound like he was wowed.

“I took every team I met seriously,” said Bosh, who scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. “It was part of the process. I had a timetable in mind. The meeting wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, regular stuff.”

Bosh had a very slow start but has come on in recent weeks during the Heat’s surge. Nevertheless, Garden fans chanted “overrated” in the Heat’s game at the Garden.